The Puppet Master's Apprentice
by TheElementalWitch
Summary: Even the greatest men make mistakes, in Sasori's case it was Taka. When he left her for dead seven years ago, they both thought it was over. However fate loves to play with people, especially delicate people. NOT SasoriXOC!
1. Of Candles and Sawdust

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters or any of the characters of Naruto.

This is my attempt at an OC story with a plot…please be nice. I spent a lot of time designing Taka, but if she turns into a Mary Sue, feel free to tell me.

Flames will be used to light the pile of wood under the spit to which Sasuke is tied. If you flame, you help roast Sasuke alive. Please Review!

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Click! Click! Click! The small metals gears grated together slowly; gently lift the massive contraption up and down. The dim light of the bare light bulb in the ceiling flickered across the polished wood, causing the shadows in the room to morph into fairy tail monsters as they wavered across the wall. To most people it looked like some kind of toy in the making; one wing, about five feet long, moving sluggishly as it blew sawdust off of the table around it, and a wooden body laying in the shadows just beyond. To Taka Sandoarishi, it looked like a disaster.

"The wing razors…that's it…I hope." Her voice was horse after half a day of silence. With a sigh Taka stretched an arm toward the cabinet mounted on the wall above her. As she looked closely at the bits of twisted metal that protruded slightly from edge of the wood, Taka slipped onto the stool.

Above her there was the noise of ripping cloth. Immediately Taka drew back the slim, black gloved hand that had been feeling around inside her supplies cabinet. "Not this too, why can't I do anything today!" she demanded angrily of the silent room.

'You know perfectly well what's wrong. First you can't concentrate on a fight, and now you can't even pick up after yourself. Why don't you consult your hand?'Her thoughts seemed to echo through her head. Taka grimaced, even her thoughts were against her today. She pulled the ripped glove off of her hand, underneath the "skin" was dark, almost black in the candlelight, and hard as a rock. 'Check you OTHER hand!'

"I know. I just want to make sure my don't have to fix this too." The dark wood of her right arm was indeed unscathed, and Taka turned back to the task at hand. With a professional air, she fished the bowl she wanted from the cabinet, along with a pair of forceps.

"Check your hand!"

"Shut up…great now I'm talking to myself on top of everything else." Moving mechanically, Taka yanked tiny pieces of shrapnel from Jiyuu, dropping them carelessly into the trashcan she knew hid in the shadows below. With each pinch and release of the forceps, Taka felt herself drifting away from the tedious task.

_She had been stalking the pair all day, trailing just behind their swirling cloaks. Considering she was only six, the young street rat was perceptive. She could see how the crowds seemed to part for these two, and shivered as one once the strangers were gone. In all the time she could remember the nameless girl had never seen the people of the small Grass village so perturbed._

_They didn't notice her until well into the afternoon, that is the pale one noticed. He watched through narrow yellow eyes, which looked similar to the girl's own, as the owner of the tea shop went after the raggedy child with a broom. She ducked under the flying twigs, a mop of unruly black hair swinging her face and hiding her eyes. Above her the broom whistled in a dangerous arch._

_Her valiant efforts to avoid the weapon were useless however, and she soon found herself dizzy and disoriented as she crouched under the awning outside. The scent of the tea and sweet dango drifted from the cracked door. Her stomach growled fiercely, reminding her that in her excitement to learn about the foreigners, she had forgotten to scavenge some food._

_Now that she had thought about food and hunger she realized just how much she wanted something to eat. Vaguely she heard the door open before the sound of the bell on the door was smothered by a vicious hunger pang._

She was gluing new rectangular razor blades into the wing before she came back to the present. A sharp pain rippled across the back of her left hand as though someone had rolled a red hot iron over skin. Instincts caused her to jerk back, hissing in shock and anger. "Shit," she spat the word through gritted teeth before ripping the glove from her left hand.

Hidden beneath the silky material was ink. Black as night a single line of ink, no thicker than a needle, spread slowly over the back of her hand as though it was alive. It curled and elongated into an unidentifiable shape, causing her entire left arm to sear with white hot pain.

"Ahh…ahh," Taka gagged back the bile that was rising in her throat. Watching the charka ink that had been buried inside her skin for years, she traced the picture with her eyes. A scorpion, flesh colored for now, had etched itself in lifelike detail into her skin. For a second she thought that the tail was curving in, preparing to strike, but she forced herself to believe that it was a trick of the light. 'It only shows up when HE's actually feeling emotions, or something like them, and HE's dead.'

That's what they'd told her anyway, the large crowd that had trudged back elated with recovery of their Kazekage. The pink haired one from Leaf (Sakura wasn't it?) had actually given Taka the news. She could only assume that one of the Chunin had sent the healer her way with the story of Chiyo's death. Taka had officially been the old women's assistant when she wasn't on missions, and most people had expected her death to take more of a toll on the younger puppeteer.

It hadn't though. Chiyo's kindness and her understanding of Taka's fears when the girl was first found were admirable that was for sure, but contrary to what most people believed, their relationship hadn't been deep. Aside from a few talks, some help setting up her new life in the village, and those precious few training sessions, Chiyo had refused after the second time, saying that Taka was unnaturally adept at the art of the puppet at the age of 13, Chiyo and Taka had simply existed as two people who were shunted together because they had been hurt by the same man. Taka wondered sometimes if Chiyo had been unnerved by her grandson's devotee, there had been times the women had looked at her so strangely.

"_She said…she said that he purposely took the attack because he…he wanted the love of his parents that he had never known." Big green eyes gazed sympathetically at Taka as they stood together by the gate of Suna. There were tears welling up in the Chunin's eyes as she finished relating the death of Chiyo and Sasori._

_Taka gazed unseeingly at the ground, as she processed the information. Chiyo dead, Gaara temporarily dead, and Sasori…dead? "This is my fault."_

"_Oh no, it's not your fault at all!" Sakura was a trained medic, any of guilt that could possibly lead to suicidal depression sent her springing into action. "There wasn't a lot that you could have helped with. The puppets were everywhere and even Chiyo was having trouble."_

"_Your right, of course," Taka plastered a fake smile over her face before looking at Sakura. 'If their both dead why is the scorpion on my hand? If he was really dead the charka he implanted in my skin would have evaporated.' Taka bowed to Sakura gratefully, "Well, thank you Sakura-san, I guess I just wish I hadn't been out on a trivial mission when my friend needed help."_

"_Sakura-chan, come on!" Sakura turned to glare at the blonde behind her that jumped around like a maniac, desperate to get home. Behind him a large group of Leaf ninja stood, waiting for their friend._

"_Look Taka-san if you…" Sakura turned back to make a parting remark, only to find that Taka had vanished._

"Taka-sama! Dinner is ready." A door was open at the top of the staircase that led to Taka's basement workshop, and a small blonde head peeked through. Two sky blue eyes took in the mess of sawdust and puppet parts.

"Hai Koanen, tell Bara I'll be there in a minute." The door closed, leaving Taka in her dark solitude.

Suddenly craving to spend time with her adopted family, Taka slipped off of the stool. Her bare feet, the first no-no on the list of rules that Taka had given Koanen for when the girl wanted to come into the shop, padded across the floor to a basin like sink in one better lit corners of the room.

She glanced at her reflection in the mirror above the sink, and stopped. Her wavy black hair, which would have been pretty if she brushed it more often, seemed to hang lankly to her shoulder blades. And her yellow, no golden (_"Sasori-sama, what color are my eyes?" "Gold Taka. Why does it matter?" "Because Orichimaru-san said our eyes are yellow," the girl grimaced," and I don't want to be like Orichimaru-san."_) eyes seemed glazed over with pain and exhaustion. Even her loose, button up shirt of a sandalwood hue seemed more threadbare than it actually was. Worst of all was her face; the normally light tan skin looked milky white in the light, and to small patches of fevered pink graced her checks.

"I look like shit." There was nothing rhetorical about the statement.

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Well there you have it...please review...

Oh yeah, I was thinking of adding a little romance...maybe...some opinions would be nice


	2. Battle Ready Arm and Girl

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto & Co.

I will start with a quick apology. My original plan was to post a new chapter every week, but as you can see that didn't work. Now I'm going to try to keep my one week plan, but no guarantees. Oh yes, I know the story may seem a little slow at the moment but there's a fight in the next chapter, and Sasori makes his debut.

Flames: Sasuke escaped and went Level 2 Curse Seal on me, but I beat him into submission (The keyboard, now badly broken, is mightier than the chakra covered fist). I could use some matches now, anyone got a pack?

Anyhow, about reviews…I have a Stats button you know, 28 people have opened the story. I'm not looking for an essay, but some feedback would be nice I'll take one word reviews (ie: "good", "bad"), I'll take anything at all…PLEASE review.

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Dinner was a subdued affair. Bowls of okowa and beef teriyaki were consumed in silence at the low wooden table under the light of delicate paper lanterns; making lanterns was a hobby of Bara's. No one seemed willing to talk and even the polite greetings at the beginning of dinner had seemed strained.

Taka couldn't maneuver her chopsticks from the blue china bowl of rice in front of her to her mouth, no matter how much effort she put into the act. The pain in her arm had receded, but a phantom tingle played across her skin like a light electrical current. It wasn't just her arm though; her entire body seemed to vibrate with some unknown force, especially the patch of hidden skin that was marked by several faded lines of chakra ink.

With a noise of disgust, Taka dropped the sticks onto the scratched surface of the table and reached for her cup of luke warm tea. The bitter liquid slid down her throat like tar, thick and sticky, causing her to gag.

Across from her a women with graying hair, that had been a beautiful blonde only a year before, glanced up sharply. Her steel eyes swept over the face of her "daughter". Several small wrinkles made themselves known on her forehead as she frowned appraisingly when Taka refused to meet her eyes.

"Taka-sama?" Koanen whispered quietly, afraid to break the silence. "What's wrong? You look sick…Taka-sama." The small girl gave her own look of worry, and her face, framed by her long golden hair, paled as Taka spit her mouthful of tea back into her glass.

Leaning back slightly on her cushion, Taka heard her back pop with a sickening crack. "I'm fine Koanen, I've been up for a long time, and it's just getting to me."

"You do seem quite jumpy, are you sure you're okay?" Bara's voice was soft and light, the polar opposite of her gaze.

Her family was worried. A warm mixture of guilt and love swirled around Taka's stomach, making up for the lack of food. "I'm fine Bara, it's just…complicated…" she trailed off lamely, trying to look for the right words. Everything was getting complicated these days. Whispers and rumors flew between the Sand shinobi like the hiss of the kunai flying through the air that accompanied the mutters of corrupt governments and big wars.

'Now you're just being paranoid; to think that a little pain would shake you up so much.' Taka reprieved herself mentally. She was being stupid of course; the tracking tattoo had only showed its face because of her fatigue. Yes that was right, her chakra network must have been in overdrive from lack of sleep and hours of work, and her body had been forced to pull out every bit of energy she had, even the chakra that wasn't hers. Now that she was relaxing, slightly, her body was having a chance to generate some more energy, so the tattoo would be gone by the next morning.

Rat-tat, ratta-tat-tat! The sharp tapping echoed in the small kitchen. Taka was halfway across the room with, much to her shame, a kunai in hand before Bara or Koanen even blinked. In the darkened window above the sink a large bird smacked its beak impatiently against the glass.

Hastily shoving the weapon back into the billowing pocket f her dark pants, Taka recognized the bird as a new messenger. The hinges of the window frame creaked viciously as she shoved the contraption outward and open. In a rustle of gray feathers the limber rat hawk wormed its way in to the room, and perched precariously on the edge of the table, its leg held out expectantly.

"Poizun?" Taka's eyes met almost identical orbs, Poizun glared back, obviously annoyed. The bird snapped out its thin leg, eager to back to the messenger nest, a large shack at the top of the Kazekage tower. Attached to the scaly brown claw was a small tube of hardened leather.

Pushing down carefully on one end of the tube, Taka quickly caught the spring released note. New and soft, the small scrap of parchment felt like a dead weight in her hand. She caught the scent of new books as she unrolled the message.

**Taka,**

**Come to the Kazekage's office NOW. Gaara's beyond pissy and we need another ninja for a five member party. Bring mission supplies, 2-3 weeks.**

The strong script stood out in thick, bold lines as the plain letters swam across the scrap. At the bottom, an indiscernible signature was scrawled carelessly, but Taka guessed it was a note from Kankuro; after all he was the only one of the few shinobi that she openly communicated with that would refer to the Kazekage as "pissy". Taka had made it clear that her work and family life were very separate entities only minutes after being presented with the title Jonin. Her fears were slightly childish it was true, but she had come home covered in blood once, and that was more than enough.

_Age 15, Taka took in the dark hall of the house as she began to tiptoe towards the stairs. She had slid in around 3:00 A.M. after finishing an "easy" B ranked mission. Easy for an ANBU maybe, but for the tired Chunin stabbing a man had been difficult as she fumbled with the kunai like a trainee. Murder wasn't complicated, one swoop of Jiyuu and the intended target was history, but seeing the look in his deep brown eyes as life trickled from him, courtesy of Taka's jagged slices crisscrossing his chest like some kind of sick tick-tack-toe board, was grating on her conscious. 'If only Jiyuu had gotten so bust up.'_

_Around her, the darkness seemed to intensify the creaks and groans of the settling house. Taka lifted herself into a stealthy tiptoe position, looking more like a guilty child sneaking cookies than a bloodstained teen heading for a moonlight shower. Each small noise of the house made Taka twitch and glance around feverishly, paranoid that Bara or Koanen would see her._

_"Taka-sama," Koanen stood at the top of the stairs, towering over the shinobi, her eyes wide._

_'Were the hell did she come from!' Taka froze with one aching foot on the steps; suddenly she was horribly aware of the globs of sticky, rust colored muck that had been splattered across the front of her body. Her mouth opened soundlessly, and she found herself unable to utter anything more sophisticated than a slight croak. _

_Above her Koanen's eyes had riveted on to the slowly drying blood, her own mouth forming an "O". Taka sputtered as gently as she could into the wall of silence, "Koanen…" The tiny girl had already turned and fled, her door snapping shut violently. "Koanen…shit…" _

"I've got to leave for a bit, 2-3 weeks for a five party mission. It shouldn't be to difficult." Koanen wrinkled her noise, and stood up leaving her threadbare green cushion to slide against the freshly waxed floor. She hugged Taka, even though she was only 7, Koanen already came up to her sister's waist.

Rising gracefully from the table Bara straightened her simple gray kimono. Instead of sorrow however, she gave Taka an almost accusatory look with a flash of steel. "There's something you're not telling us, I don't think you should be putting anymore stress on yourself…" Bara trailed off quietly, her gaze never quavering.

Taka couldn't help but crack a tired grin at Bara's attempt to scold her, "Stress is my life Bara, besides I'm only going to be gone for a couple weeks. When I get back I promise to sit down and tell all about my problems. I can't guarantee that they'll interest you because they involve some pieces of rotten wood." 'Liar, liar, liar, liar!' Taka could feel her subconscious quivering with disgust.

"Just be careful," Bara was pleading now, "Please just take yourself. I'm starting to worry about you more and more, you look so ill."

"Careful is my middle name Bara, besides I only look sick because I spend too much time indoors," Taka regretfully peeled Koanen off of the leg her slacks, "Hey kid, want to help me pack?" 'I thought Kakuzu said your middle name was Annoying-Midget-Brat.'

Koanen nodded and Taka steered the girl across the clay tiles that had been artistically arranged into a geometric pattern of triangles that sprawled across the kitchen and spilled halfway across the connected sitting room. Beyond that was a base of slick cedar flooring. By the time they had reached the top of the stairs, which had been carved into the earth that made up the thick walls, Koanen had become energetic and dashed the rest of the way down the earthy hall. Taka moved more slowly, giving Koanen a chance to find a place to hide for their traditional game of Good Bye Hide and Seek, taking in the calming scent of rosemary incense that seemed to permeate the home and memorizing the order of the photos that plastered almost every square inch of sandy wall.

There were five rooms on the top floor: Bara's room at the end of the hall, Koanen's room on the farthest left, Taka's room across from Koanen's, a bathroom on the left right by the stairs, and a locked guest room opposite the stairs. Taka often compared the arrangement to chart of how important someone was in the home. Bara Pinkusshon, owner of the Pinkusshon Fabric and Alteration Shop and mistress of the manor at the top, her only biological child Koanen next, Taka the adopted Akatsuki misfit almost even with Koanen, and the few photos and personal items that had once belonged to Bara's runaway husband Joudan in the guest room pushed as far away from the seamstress as possible.

Taka shoved her door open gently with her foot, careful that she didn't hurt Koanen, who might be hiding behind it. She looked up and was greeted by the sight of absolute clutter. Even though she spent barely three months out of the year, usually choosing to sleep amidst the sweet sawdust of her cool workshop, Taka still managed to make her room look as though a hurricane had whipped through. Dirty clothing hung from the railing of her dusty bunk bed, torn books spewed from an ancient bookcase, scraps of paper fell like raindrops every time Taka bumped into something as she navigated her way around piles of raggedy blankets, scrapheap's of wood, and several open toolboxes.

"You're getting better," Taka commented as she did a 360°, noticing that Koanen had barely disturbed any of the thick dust when she had hidden. Several drag marks led to the bunk, but they stopped halfway and the surrounding piles looked undisturbed. "Very good inde-oof!"

Koanen tackled Taka with a cry of triumph, causing both of them to land in the in a nest of musty cloth. Almost immediately they were both coughing, gagging as they tried to clear the dust from their throats and laugh simultaneously. Taka twisted around in the ocean of gray tarp, capturing the of body of Koanen.

"I'll show you to mess with me you little!" Koanen screamed with laughter as she turned and twisted, trying to get away from Taka's fingers. Taka continued to tickle the girl viscously, beginning to laugh herself as she hauled the both of them into an semi-upright position.

"Please. Taka…sama…stop…can't breath!"

They panted as one in the thick air, tuning out the faint call from downstairs, enjoying the bond of sisterhood. Koanen was the first to move from her resting place on a bit of uncovered floor. "Come on Taka-sama, we need to hurry," she turned a smiling face to her older sister.

"Hai, hai, the Kazekage is probably having seizures by now." Giggling together at Gaara's expense, Taka and Koanen began to collect supplies. Koanen was sent downstairs fetch a first aid kit, a wrapped Jiyuu, and Taka's "mission arm" from the workshop (with shoes on of course). Taka crammed basic toiletries and several identical changes of clothing into a sand colored bag that would fit invisibly under her vest. As she had since she had found the picture, Taka slipped a photo of Bara and Koanen into the very bottom of the bag, feeling another rush of warmth flow through her.

"Here you go Taka-sama." Koanen appeared in the doorway, only her toes visible underneath the wrapped puppet that she held before her. She placed Jiyuu gently of the bottom bunk next to Taka's pack, and the med kit next to that. Finally she held out a delicate wooden contraption that almost perfectly mimicked the human arm.

Taka unbuttoned and removed her shirt quickly, reveling a slim frame and small chest, held closely to her body by tight chest wrappings. Over these were two leather straps that were attached to either side of her wooden arm and end in a small silver belt buckle that rested just below her left underarm. Deftly unbuckling the straps with her left hand, Taka pulled slowly on her false arm. Holding together the cup of the arm and the tiny stump that was all that was left of her shoulder was a circle of six chakra strings, their pale green light glimmered momentarily before vanishing.

Koanen caught the arm as Taka dropped it, handing the puppeteer her second appendage. Holding the "shoulder" of the weapon a few inches from her stub, Taka barely had to blink before the green threads shot from her smooth skin. They wormed their way through the wood, effectively connecting the arm to her chakra network. One buckle later and Taka had two fully functional arms.

Glancing over to see Koanen finishing the cautious packing of her only unarmed creation, Taka turned her back to check her current arm. The entire forearm popped out on well greased hinges as Taka squeezed it just so. Inside the hollow shell rested a mass of senbon needles, each with a perfectly poisoned tip. "Good I have enough for a couple fights," Taka grunted quietly to herself.

"That's it Taka-sama." Koanen stood slowly, watching as Taka replaced her shirt and tucked the bag under her vest. With a slight groan she pulled the white cloth straps of Jiyuu over her shoulders, the puppet seemed heavier than normal.

"Well, I've got to go. I love you Koanen, be careful and I should be back soon." Hurriedly Taka kissed her sister on the forehead. Judging by the note time was of the essence, and the Kazekage was not one to be left waiting. Fleeing down the stairs Taka stopped only to give Bara a peck on the check before flying out the door, heading full speed towards the Kazekage Tower.

"_Are you hungry little one?" It was the snake man, his eyes never leaving her face as he crouched down next to the girl. His smile scared her a little but the scent of the sushi he held out to her quickly made up for that. Snatching the cool rolls of fresh food in a flash, the street rat shoved them into her mouth with one hand before curling up into a more protected position with her knees to her chest. Softly the man chuckled as she swallowed the food whole._

"_You know, you should savor the flavor of food, it will make you feel fuller. Kukuku" He reached out to pat the girl on the head like she was some kind of cute pet._

_The girl jerked away, instincts telling her that he was going to hit her. Push herself away from him, still with one arm, she grimaced angrily._

"_Orochimaru, we don't have time to feed the rats." The voice was cold and low as a hulking shadow loomed over the pair. A pair of blank, piercing eyes gazed on in annoyance, and the voice came again from behind a black cloth that covered the hunched man's mouth. "We need to return as quickly as possible."_

_The Orochimaru man frowned slightly, his curtain of black hair hiding his expression of distaste from his partner. "As I recall Sasori-san, we were given a week. Surely we can indulge ourselves for one day. Kukuku." He reached out and gently patted the girl's head again before she could react._

_This time she shoved herself away with all her might, her disarray of rags flying around her. She sprawled a few feet from the pair, glaring at them as she shoved what remained of her right arm back beneath the folds of a ragged poncho like cloth._

_Orochimaru made as if to reach for her again, looking thoroughly amused, but was stopped by his partner. A light hand with visibly jointed fingers grasped Orochimaru's outstretched wrist warningly. The girl recognized the arm immediately; it was made of wood, the expensive kind that she saw for sale down the street._

"You're late." Temari's greeting was anything but friendly. Taka knew that she, as the older sister, was usually in charge of keeping the Kazekage in check. Even after he had lost his demon, Gaara was still powerful, and still had some anger problems.

"Sorry Temari-san, but technically Kankuro-san didn't give me an exact time." The blonde's frown deepened, both in annoyance with her brother and aggravation at Taka's refusal to refer to her as just "Temari". Taka was technically a year older than her and had also been a Jonin longer, but she continued to refer to anybody who was ranked above a Genin as "–san", despite the valiant attempts of several shinobi.

"Well come on, our guests are tired of waiting."

"Guests?"

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On a parting note this was written really late at night the day before school starts so I blame any spelling/grammar errors on my being a brain dead zombie. 


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